Patent GB-834220-A (GB)
Title: Gauging apparatus
IPC: G01B5/00
Filed: 1956-08-31
Abstract: 834,220. Gauging bearing races &c. automatically. SHEFFIELD CORPORATION. Aug. 31, 1956 [Sept. 12, 1955], No. 26661/56. Class 106 (2). [Also in Group XXX] An apparatus for gauging similar parts from a plurality of separate sources comprises a receiving station for collecting the parts, means for conveying the parts from said station to a gauging station, and means for producing a signal at the particular source of each part as it is gauged, the signal being determined by the characteristics of the part. As shown, the parts to be gauged are bearing races produced by twelve machines numbered 1 to 12, Fig. 13, the races from each machine being collected in aligned shoots 30 and held therein by an escapement 40. When one batch of races has been gauged, the escapement 40 oscillates (see Group XXX) to permit one race from each shoot to roll on to a step-by-step conveyer 41 that carries the races to a position for engagement by the fingers 71, 72 of a transfer bar 42 which is periodically actuated to transfer each race in turn from the conveyer 41 to the gauging station. Each race, Fig. 17, is then gauged for raceway-to-face location, raceway runout, and bearing diameter. Arranging raceways in the gauging station.- A piston 111, Fig. 15, pushes a shaft 112 and therewith a driving locator 114 against one face of the race to move it into the gauging station against a spring biased sleeve 115, Figs. 15 and 18. The movement of the shaft 112 to the left is limited so that the reference face of the race is located in a predetermined plane. A clamping roller 141 presses resiliently against the cylindrical surface of the race. A toothed rack 125 then acts on a pinion 136 on a spindle 116 to cause an eccentrically arranged gauging roller 120 to move upwardly into the raceway. The gauging roller 120 is free for axial movement to follow the bearing raceway and co-operates with an orifice 170, Fig. 18, to control a leakage of air therefrom. Simultaneously, air leakage gauging cartridges 175 and 176, Fig. 16, have their work contactors 177 and 178 placed in engagement with diametrically opposite points on the outer surface of the race. Gauging operations.-The gauging operations are illustrated by the circuit diagram in Fig. 22. After each race has been automatically positioned in the gauging station and the roller 120 has moved up into the bearing raceway, the race is then rotated by a toothed rack 160, Fig. 15, acting on a pinion on the shaft 112. As the roller 120 follows the raceway curvature, maximum and minimum pressure differences are set up in the left-hand air circuit and a variation head 264 is set to actuate a reject switch if the permissible race-way runout is exceeded. The raceway location, relative to the reference face of the race, is gauged by a pressure responsive Bourdon tube 190 set to operate, in its permitted maximum or minimum displacement, reject switches 260A and 260B respectively. At. the same time the race is also gauged for outside diameter by the air leakage gauging cartridges 175 and 176. The work contacting plunger in each cartridge 175 and 176 controls an air leakage through an orifice in the cartridge body and the resulting pressure changes are applied to a gauging unit 280 giving a reject signal if the diameter is not within prescribed limits. Sorting gauged races.-After the race has been gauged, the roller 120, the clamp roller 141, and the shaft 112 are actuated to free the race and the race is then carried forward by a feed finger 73, Fig. 13, into a selection shoot which has three trap doors in its floor. The trap doors are selectively opened by solenoids in response to the three gauging operations to remove and segragate any races that are beyond the various tolerances. Signalling the result of the gauging test to the source of the gauged article.-The step-by-step conveyer 41 rotates an index wheel 44, Fig. 5, having a cam surface 68 on its periphery capable of actuating any one of twelve surrounding switches 301 to 312, one for each of said twelve machines. As the wheel 44 is indexed in timed relationship with the conveyer 41 the switch corresponding to the machine which produced the part then being gauged is actuated by the cam surface 68. If switch 301 is closed and a faulty race is being gauged, a solenoid is operated to cause a reject signal originating from any of the switches 260, 264 and 280, Fig. 22, to pass through switch 301, Fig. 5, along a line 415, Fig. 24, to a counter 419 for machine No. 1 and a count is made. The counter 419 is adjusted for any predetermined number of rejects and when this number is reached the counter opens switch 419A to the counter and closes switch 419B to a signal light 420. A relay can be substituted for the light 420 to stop machine No. 1. When a satisfactory part is produced by the machine a signal is again sent through the switch 301 but this time solenoid operated means ensure that the signal is sent along a line 416 to the counter 419 to reset the counter. If at any time manual resetting is desired switch 417 is depressed. Electric circuits for the control of the gauging apparatus are described. Specification 834,221 is referred to.